


The stars are always brighter

by Hollow_Vessel



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: ...I love him, Abuse, Horrible working conditions, Its about that navigator from the movie, M/M, Navigator is tired, Resisty - Freeform, Suffering, The Tallests are terrible, headcanons, is it even close to canon? Probably not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-18 23:49:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22468513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollow_Vessel/pseuds/Hollow_Vessel
Summary: The story of a navigator who got screwed over by the Tallests and doesn’t exactly understand his feelings.
Relationships: Almighty Tallest Purple/Almighty Tallest Red, Navigator/Lard Nar
Comments: 18
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

Life aboard the Massive was as luxurious as you could expect it to be. With multiple bars and cafeterias, divided by height and rank. Luxurious places to sleep, top of the line technology, and about anything you could ever want in life was on the huge ship. And it was perfectly secure with the army ships and rippers than orbited the vessel.  
Only the luckiest drones and the highest ranking elites could mill about the absolutely huge liner.

The luckiest of the Irkens aboard the ship had to be the navigators. Though their role seemed to not have too much of an effect on daily life, the controls at their clawtips could manipulate nearly all aspects of the ship. It wasn’t simply directional controls. Nor was it just weapons. At the flick of a claw, they could control the internal temperature of the deck. They could shut down sections and lock down others. They could alter the levels of gravity as well... The lighting was also in their control, a very vital piece of technology for keeping the passengers happy. 

The navigators really navigated much more than their ship’s destination. It was as if they directed the flow of time, with the dimming and cooling of the interior to maintain proper sleep schedules for the Irkens on board. 

They had to keep a tight ship around here. Amongst themselves, they assigned each other their jobs. Kei was the tallest of the navigators. He was a lanky Irken with long limbs and a slightly hunched back. It was difficult to not have such awful posture with the job, however. Kei controlled the ‘day’ cycle of the ship, which had very rigid rules pertaining to it. The temperature had to almost fluctuate every hour alongside the lights. He had to watch that neon blue screen to ensure that there were no unauthorized changes (which often occurred due to the vast internal atmosphere of the ship). And if there were changes, he had to figure out the cause and abort it.

And so he sat with his freckled face pressed up to the screen, eyes wide as he took in the flowing lines of information.  
Everything seemed fine so far today, which was good. His job was tedious and annoying as is, only made more miserable by the seemingly random mess ups the system had. It wasn’t difficult to manage or anything, it just required a constant eye on it. This was what he was trained for, these long hours... There was barely any time left for him to snack, which was the downside of it.

His standard shift was 24 hours long, then he got a measly six hours off, which Kei spent sleeping in his thankfully comfortable chambers (don’t even get him started on those soft mattresses and temperature controlled nests).

...His paycheck was nearly non-existent. Kei wasn’t sure if it was due to his past, or if the other navigators were experiencing the same budget constraints. 

...Not that they worked as much as him. Clearly he would be earning more if it was by a flat hourly rate.  
Kei never asked, however. It was a touchy subject, one’s access to snacks. He never really saw them eating many snacks either...

Kei adjusted a few sliders with laser-like precision before leaning back and crunching his neck, then each joint of his claws, then straining his back slightly with a relieved sigh. That had... Hurt, he was so very stiff. And he had so many hours left to work...

Kei remembered the old days, when they weren’t understaffed. Now, more than half of the crew didn’t have a replacement for after their shift. Some of them had to stay extra hours until someone else could take over, or someone, usually Kei, could take over for them.

The job honestly upset him... it was an odd feeling. Mixed emotions that he couldn’t identify.  
Sure, being on top of society, only outshone by the Tallests themselves was nice... But it didn’t feel like how the job was viewed by others. No, they did not “share” snacks with the Tallests. Yes, the beds were comfortable, when they were allowed to return to them.  
And yeah, being near the Tallests was... The feeling could boost anyone’s mood tenfold. To know that you are part of a very small group of Irkens that’s lower to be in the grace of the two...  
It was exciting. It made the work worth doing, because you were pleasing your Tallests, whom you were supposed to dedicate your entire life to without fail.

Kei was glad that their outfit came with high collars that covered half of their faces. It hid his freckles, which the Tallests had made fun of him for in the past, and it hid away the variety of non-approved emotions that flashed through his mind every single time his lunch was stolen. Or he was kicked. Or he watched a dear friend being thrown out of the airlock, never to be seen or heard from again. 

...Kei had worked for a week to buy that meal from Foodcourtia. Of course he had been _livid_ when the Tallest (Purple) had walked around to him, looked at his computer, before plucking the meal out of his hands and devouring it noisily in front of him.  
When thanked, he gave a weak “you’re welcome” of course. Because he was respectful. 

...

After a week under the new rule of Red and Purple, suddenly he found himself wanting to be as far away from the Tallests as possible.  
By the one month mark, he found himself wishing that he had failed his pilot’s test back in training all those decades ago. 

Navigators were trained to be emotionless. To be cold and calculating. To take orders and perform mechanical tasks without fail.  
They did their job without prompting.  
They didn’t stir trouble.  
They didn’t deserve _this_.

The crew lived in constant fear and hunger. With breaks seldom allowed, unless their shift extended past the Irken labor law mandate of the 30 hour non-drone working limit. And even then, they were brought back after a barely legal amount of time. Three hours. It wasn’t respectful of the time they had put in to be here.

But, again, it was short staffed. If the Tallests were ever in a bad mood... Anyone could be in their warpath. And who better to take their aggression out in than the very Irkens controlling their flagship and the Armada? The ones who ordered the snacks? The ones who could fire the huge lasers?...

They were down three navigators just this month. The last one... Kei’s antennae drooped as he did his best to refocus his vision on the screen. But it looked doubled. 

This job used to make him so happy. Now he just... It filled him with this odd feeling that he couldn’t describe. Kei didn’t know enough about emotions to make a particular plea about it. Just. It felt icky. His gaze narrowed as he slid a slider down with the flick of a claw.  
...

He did sort of miss that navigator that had been thrown out the airlock.  
He had just been tired from the terrible shifts and lack of sugar in his blood. Really, a simple tap would have woken him, if not terrify him out of his mind (due to it likely being the Tallests who would have had to tap him) but Purple had been in one of those not rare moods of his. Like a smeet who hadn’t been put down for a nap on time.

Kei had been gritting his teeth so hard that he feared he would chip one. Not that he got around to eating much, anyways.  
Though he was the tallest on the crew, he sat furthest away from the bridge due to the layout of the screens. 

Kei watched with hunger dancing in his eyes as Purple tossed aside a half eaten bag of mini donuts.  
He had been the only Irken who had not made a fool of themselves, leaping over the computer screens all for a measly bite. It wasn’t like he was going to get any of it.

Kei could probably use the sugar, in all honesty. His claws were trembling. Not hard enough to stop him from doing his job, though. Just enough for him to notice, to feel them jerk slightly every once in a while.  
His stomach growled at him and his antennae twitched to the sounds and scents of his fellow crew members dividing up the food and devouring it like starved beasts.  
They might as well have been, it wouldn’t be very different compared to them whenever they were leaping at their food. 

...It was still painful. The clawing in his guts was growing unbearable, more and more so by the minute. That was settled then, next time the Tallests dropped food, he would have to claim it.  
If he couldn’t grab it first, he might be able to use his tallness as leverage.. Which he hated to do, but he did so much for the crew it was the least they could do.

They owed him. Yeah...He covered so many shifts for them. When really, his should have been the ones covered by them.

Kei focused down on his work, sitting in wait. Both for work and for food.  
He would take any sort of snack at this point. Even a slushy spilt on the floor sounded appeasing, he was just that hungry.  
When was his next break? Time was blurred together already. It must be soon.

The very next hour, Tallest Red threw down a bag of half eaten churros. Kei stared before propping himself up on his claws, prepared to jump before-!  
_Brriiiing, briiing, briiiing._

The incessant ringing sound reminded him of his other job. He had been made the comms officer, but only when the phone was ringing.  
His coworkers grabbed the snacks in the rush.

“My Tallests! Incoming transmission! From... Unknown!” He read off the screen in his announcer-like voice. The Tallests glared back at him for a moment, making him want to squirm and die right then and there. Why did they act this way?! As if HE was the one who had called them!

“Accept it.” Red ordered. Kei nodded and jammed his claw into the bright green accept button, not uttering another word.

The screen projection instantly blinked to a familiar sight. Darkness with pairs and pairs of gleaming yellow eyes. A voice over a filter.

Kei recognized it, and clearly the Tallests did as well, told by their annoyed groans. Kei wasn’t exactly... annoyed by them. It was the better alternative to Zim calling them, at least. Zim’s voice was grating and loud. At least having to listen to the audio of these calls was... Nicer?...  
And it was sort of amusing, watching his Tallests flip out on these pests...

“What is it, goat man?! Did you come to steal more of our snacks? HUH? **HUH?!** ” Purple jeered around a mouthful of churro.

“Hu? NO! You tall fools!” He said, voice altering still in place, despite everyone knowing the voice and appearance of the Vortian.  
“We are calling to!... We... Are calling to!!!...” He blinked and glanced back to one of the faceless shadows.  
“What were we calling for? Tell me NOW.” His gaze narrowed as he barked out the order. Claws twitched.  
Kei could almost hear his real voice under the distortion. 

The lights on their end flicked on and the cardboard signs were dropped. The one that resembled a purple tack floated higher. “We were going to steal their power core!”

The awkward Vortian, still looking away from the camera, blinked and gripped at the sides of his seat.  
“Ah! Yes.” He turned back to the screen and cleared his throat, before jumping to his feet and pointing at the screen.  
“We’re here for your-“

“Navigators,” Red began, taking a long sip from his icy sugar blast, “blast them!” He commanded. Purple whined and growled at the Vortian, leaning against Red and nodding his approval.

Kei watched with a slight fascination. It confused him why this.. Puny, puny Vortian would stand up to the Armada. The _Armada_. From the looks of things, their crew was small. Likely limited to those who were on the video chat, plus maybe a few members. That was it. And yet...

Kei watched with wide eyes as the Resisty crew began panicking and screaming and running around. All the while, the unnamed captain remained in his seat, claws tapping together.  
“You’re going to blast us? GOOD LUCK WITH THAT! This cloaking technology is Vortian! You could search for millions of light years and not find us-“

“Target located!” One of Kei’s coworkers shouted.  
“Shoot them!” Purple and Red commanded in unison.

Lard Nar blinked and stared with widening eyes.

“Sir we’re about to be blown up. It’ll be TERRIBLE!” One of the Resisty members informed with an oddly cheerful uplift to his voice.

Kei wasn’t exactly paying attention to.. What was happening. But some very unallowed thoughts were crossing through his mind. His PAK seemed to actively make it harder to think. So he did not. But...

Watching that little goat captain...  
The sensation welling in his chest was odd, and he couldn’t describe what it was. It was such a foreign feeling.  
Was it pity? It had to be. Otherwise... There was no otherwise. That’s what it had to be.  
He felt pity for the poorly Vortian, and his ragtag crew, who were facing the odds, being free, and standing up for their rights.

Pity...  
It made his face feel uncomfortably warm, and sweat to gather in his gloves. It made him glad for the high collars of their costumes.


	2. Chapter 2

The calls from that odd crew (rebelly, or overthrowy, were the Tallests’ chosen names for them) were frequent. Not as often as the calls from Zim, however. Those seemed to occur daily, much to the disdain of both the Tallest, and the staff. 

This was both a curse and a blessing. Every time the phone rang, there was a fifty percent chance of it being the Resisty, as they called themselves. And any call from them was better than one from Zim, no matter the empty threats and plots spilled by the ragtag crew.

The part about it that was bad, however, was how angered the Tallests grew upon an interruption to their snacks and... Being close together time. Another thing that Kei would never understand. And he made no effort to.

Why would he pay attention to his Tallests anyways? His work was much more entertaining, yes. It was very entertaining to regulate the temperatures and lighting levels... It was more appealing than even looking at his Tallests, who Kei found himself finding more and more foolish as time went on.

These thoughts scared him and occasionally made his PAK feel like it was filled with buzzing bugs. 

Kei just tried to focus harder on his work.

That strategy seemed to work out well about half the time, as the navigator would find himself spacing out and going on autopilot more and more often. One such day, he had accepted a call as per the Tallests’ demand. Kei stared down at his hands, focusing on the outline of them compared to his very bright screen, eyes slightly unfocused as the buzzing seemed to overwhelm most everything else.

Kei found himself slammed back into reality, however, at the alarming screech of Zim. Tiredly, Kei blinked and looked up at the big screen, which his Tallests were also staring at with expressions of dismay.

“My TALLESTS! MyTallestsmytallestsmytallests—!” Zim began chanting mindlessly, hopping from one foot to the other in obvious excitement. Kei stared up at this odd display, the hunger pangs in his stomach momentarily ignored. 

Why was he so... Hyper today? It never meant anything good, but it might serve as some sort of... Distraction from his worrisome mind. 

“WHAT?” Purple snapped at Zim. This outburst didn’t take as long as it had taken during other calls. Though, Kei just assumed that it was his Tallest being in one of their moods again... 

Kei inwardly scowled at his own attitude around his Tallests. He shouldn’t be thinking of them so... casually. It wasn’t healthy or good for his PAK. A bead of nervous sweat trailed down his face as he felt himself shrinking in his seat and making himself appear smaller. 

Though the fear of this unpermitted emotion was mostly irrational, considering that the Tallests were currently locked into a debate Zim had started about the different animals of Urth-...? Something about Zim showing the Tallests tall animals, and the leaders of the Irken empire denying the entire existence of such creatures despite photography by the defective invader-wannabe. 

It was still a bother. He knew that he shouldn’t be thinking or feeling these things, but as he argued it with himself, he found no leverage. Why COULDN’T he think of them like that? All they were were essentially big smeets. Smeets that everyone else had to listen to and be at their beckon call.

His PAK felt like it was buzzing, blurring his vision and making it harder to focus.

Kei flinched when suddenly a hand tapped at his shoulder. He would stand suddenly and look up- Actually.  
It was his coworker, Arc. No one to be alarmed about, and no one that would fancy to throw him out of the airlock.

“Your shift is over... You should get some rest.” She said, a small smile spreading across her face as she gestured for him to move aside for her to take his seat.

Oh thank goodness. Kei simply nodded and wordlessly moved away. Relief flooded over him and he made his way out of the room, and off of the bridge.

The navigator walked and walked, but eventually passed the barracks, his supposed destination. He felt too.. too charged to just lie down and go to sleep, however much his aching back was begging him to. The halls of this section of the Massive specifically were dull and repetitive. Light pink floors and dull red surrounding. 

Other Irkens would walk by, but none of them would cast the average-heighted navigator even a glance.

His antennae would drop slightly at this, but he kept walking, eyes staring straight ahead.  
He knew where he was going, but at the same time he didn’t. He knew the answer but his mind kept screaming questions, and his PAK clawed at the insides of his mind.

But enough was enough.  
He had to do this.  
Something.  
Right?

...

The ship loading and docking bay was expansive. It was a straight platform, with half of the expansive room being open to the stars beyond. Of course, though, most of the space was being taken up by ships, which Irkens were lurking about and stockpiling with supplies.

It was mostly easy to slip by unnoticed. If anyone saw him, they’d not question him.  
His rank was decent enough that no one tried to push him around (minus the Tallests, of course).

Kei sighed as he looked up and down the row of parked and forgotten ships.

Ah....  
This is when he would hesitate. What was he doing?!

Kei looked back towards the entrance to the Massive in worry, eyes wide and brimmed with concern.  
But no one was looking at him, or for him.  
He would take a deep breath and try the first ship hatch he could find.

...  
It opened with a click and Kei found himself staring at the Massive as if became less and less so in the distance.

His claws were shaking just at the connotations of what he just did.  
He didn’t even have the mind to fix the autopilot or to check where he was going. Not even to inspect the ship he has just easily stolen, without _anyone_ noticing.

Maybe nothing would change for them.  
But for Kei. Everything was just about to change.


End file.
